These are really great backpack cameras for anyone that needs a full-frame. I recently picked up a used a7r that I will be taking on JMT in August. I posted a sort of pre-trip practice run report here. With the little 35mm f2.8 it's got a lot of punch for landscape at only 21 oz.

My "justification" for not needing the II is that the optical stabilization (and possibly mythical shutter shake in my a7r) are non-issues with tripod. Stabilization in the II's adds 3 or 4 ounces.

One thing that is not widely known (I didn't know until I had it, despite extensive forum/review/google searches) is that in-camera battery charging actually IS useful. It can charge from a 2amp USB wall charger in 2 hours. It charges from my Suntactics sCharger-5 in full sunlight (rated at 1amp) in 3 hours. Reports of 5-6 hours are because the box-packers at Sony included a 0.5amp USB wall charger. Clearly they did not consult the engineers that built the camera (and I trust the engineers more than the box-packers). I assume this holds true for all of the a7 and a7II line-up.

A friend of mine has been using the the full frame Sonys and can't stop talking them up. I'm fairly certain that I'll make the jump whenever I fell compelled to upgrade my gear. (my camera body is 5 years old now)

My main concern is that the sony zoom lenses don't appear to be that much different in terms of weight, so the overall benefit of weight savings isn't as significant as I would like. If they could make something like the 24-70 2.8 and have it weight half as much, it'd make the whole lineup a game changer.

There is a lens adapter Brian, which makes using Canon lenses, with autofocus, either available or will be available soon. This will eliminate the main reason most Canon users did not want to jump ship, especially now with autofocus being functional!

PS. Found it on DPreview:

AF with A-mount and third-party lenses

Sony says the on-sensor phase-detection AF can be used with A-mount lenses using the simpler LA-E3 adapter, rather than the LA-E4 that had an SLT mechanism built in. At the press launch in New York we even got a glimpse of the a7R II autofocusing Canon EF lenses using a Metabones electronic adapter. Focus appeared to be on par with OVF focus on a native Canon body, and the AF experience itself didn't appear to be limited simply because you're using a third party lens (full coverage and tracking are available).

HST= Wilderness Adventurer who knows no bounds, except for their own imagination.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member:http://reconn.org

maverick wrote:There is a lens adapter Brian, which makes using Canon lenses, with autofocus, either available or will be available soon. This will eliminate the main reason most Canon users did not want to jump ship, especially now with autofocus being functional!

PS. Found it on DPreview:

AF with A-mount and third-party lenses

Sony says the on-sensor phase-detection AF can be used with A-mount lenses using the simpler LA-E3 adapter, rather than the LA-E4 that had an SLT mechanism built in. At the press launch in New York we even got a glimpse of the a7R II autofocusing Canon EF lenses using a Metabones electronic adapter. Focus appeared to be on par with OVF focus on a native Canon body, and the AF experience itself didn't appear to be limited simply because you're using a third party lens (full coverage and tracking are available).

Yeah, that is exactly what my friend thinks I should do as well. The weight savings seem less massive when I still have to carry my big Canon lenses. I want to have my cake and eat it too! Truthfully though, I do forsee my desire to carry around heavy camera gear diminishing over time, so I'm very hopeful that gear will continue to move in this direction. Ideally, I'd like to have something like a full camera body/24-70 2.8/tripod equivalent combo weight less than 5 pounds.

Truthfully though, I do forsee my desire to carry around heavy camera gear diminishing over time, so I'm very hopeful that gear will continue to move in this direction. Ideally, I'd like to have something like a full camera body/24-70 2.8/tripod equivalent combo weight less than 5 pounds.

Yes, age, and possibly physical limitation may cause this too. I would love to see the weight of this gear go down, but there is tipping point where the durability and quality will be effected, especially when this gear is used in such harsh environments. We still need quality, durability, and good water sealing, without compromise.

HST= Wilderness Adventurer who knows no bounds, except for their own imagination.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member:http://reconn.org

Schmalz, you are right that the zooms are heavy, or just as heavy as ever. As somewhat of a beginner (well, I've been taking pictures for 30 years but only seriously for a year), I found that stripping down to a single prime lens for a while improved my photography a great deal. I see more and take more interesting pictures now than I did before when always carrying a zoom. Yes, I'm missing opportunities too, but I think on balance gaining more than I'm losing (I don't expect that this would be true for a more advanced photographer). I'll be adding 2 more primes for my upcoming JMT hike, but these are to add specific capability that I couldn't get from a zoom anyway (e.g., 24mm f/1.4 for astrophotography).

Some weight info from my spreadsheet below. This isn't complete but only what I considered based on weight and added capability (fast, long, macro, etc). Several of these are just released this month or next:

I guess there are many arguments for zoom versus 2 or 3 primes. It does matter to me where that weight is. The 4.2 oz 35mm f/2.8 basically lives on my camera, and I find the 22 oz total weight easy to carry around my neck (or in a small hip bag) for any length of time. It's not super wide, or super fast, or macro, but takes darn good pictures. If I need wider or faster or long or macro then I'll just carry that as one or more extra primes in my backpack where the weight is somewhat less noticeable. Basically, I'm adopting the UL philosophy of taking only what I need for what I'm doing.

schmalz wrote:Ideally, I'd like to have something like a full camera body/24-70 2.8/tripod equivalent combo weight less than 5 pounds.

If you can give up on the f/2.8, then the Sony FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS plus a7rII plus Sirui T-025X CFTripod & ballhead gets you to just barely under 5 lbs. You'll have to give up something to get to 5 lbs.

Charlie - I see your point and it's a pretty common one actually. I think that the idea of carrying around a prime and forcing yourself to make it work is an interesting way to get outside of your comfort zone as a photographer. However, I think that when it comes to the Sierra and trail hiking, it doesn't make as much sense. I usually don't have the ability to move closer or further from my subject in order to allow my location to control the framing. I am often stuck in one spot so a prime lens would remove the majority of my ability to frame the composition. I just don't see it working very well when hiking in the wilderness.

I also prefer wider shots so I guess I could just carry a wide angle prime and be done with it, but that seems more boring to me even if it would be lighter and produce sharper images.

I also prefer wider shots so I guess I could just carry a wide angle prime and be done with it, but that seems more boring to me even if it would be lighter and produce sharper images.

Or you can get a pano kit from RRS, not need for the multi-pano, unless you are really interested in making very large prints, the single pano will allow you to shoot with you camera in portrait mode, this will allow you to shoot wide prints, just 4 or 5 overlapping tiles will give you a very large, wide, and high resolution print. A cheaper and more versatile solution. http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/Shop/Pa ... Multi-Row/

HST= Wilderness Adventurer who knows no bounds, except for their own imagination.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member:http://reconn.org